DVLA auction report for February 2024

The top 5 number plates sold at DVLA Auction in February 2024

DVLA's February 2024 auction was, as previously announced, an online event that ran from Wednesday 14th to Tuesday 20th February 2024.

As always, prices quoted in this report include fees and taxes.

Anomaly

Unusually, February's auction comprised just 1000 lots instead of the usual 2,500. This was simply because the auction had originally been planned as a live venue event. The DVLA's decision to discontinue live events and move the auctions completely online was made after the lots for this sale had been allocated.

The top five

The most expensive registration at this most recent auction was 2 FU, which sold for £74,565. This one was interesting, as FU combinations have been problematic on occasion and DVLA have declined requests to release them. There are some in circulation though: in the past we have written about FU 2, which was owned by the Smart family of circus fame.

The number two slot was taken by 8 XN at £54,021. The last few single-digit XN numbers have achieved much higher prices than earlier examples. The first five registrations to be released in this series achieved an average hammer price of £4,100 each. [Similarly, 6 NJM, which came in 10th place in the price rankings this month, sold for £27,057. However, the average hammer price of single-digit NJM numbers sold previously was just £6,000.]

In third place was a word plate, 501 O (Solo), which was bought for £34,761. Fourth place went to A911 GTS at £32,514 which was, no doubt, bought for its Porsche reference. The last of February's top five was another word plate. One can't help but suspect that a degree of bitterness may have prompted the purchase of HER 105S (Her loss) for £32,193.

Word plates

There were some pretty good word registrations on offer at this auction. One buyer made a bold claim by purchasing THE 904T (The GOAT) for £27,198. However, they are not without competition as a rival contender for the title paid £5,562 for THE 604T in 2019.

Arguably more intriguing was WHY 510W (Why slow?). Whatever the meaning behind the question, the purchaser paid £11,649 to ask it. Another one with a hint of ambiguity was BRA 51C (£8,888). It's difficult to be certain whether the buyer was specifying an underwear size, lamenting the state of their finances or just a big fan of the TV comedy series.

P455 MOT (Pass MOT) which sold for £8,644, made us wonder whether the purchaser was a mechanic with a flair for marketing or just an optimistic car owner.

We would be very disappointed if the buyer of 510 UGH (£8,439) doesn't live in Slough. As for the new owner of DRA 460N (£7,797), if they aren't Welsh, or the star of a certain entrepreneurial TV panel show, we have to hope they are at least a Game of Thrones fan.

Car-themed

Porsche owners were spoilt for choice, as is often the case. We've already mentioned A911 GTS: other plates on a similar theme were 911 JNR (£12,933), SJM 911 (£12,933), 911 SSV (£6,384) and 911 DWF (£3,239).

Not too many obvious Ferrari plates this time, although 365 G tempted someone at £30,074. Still, if you can afford a Ferrari 365, then £30k for a nice plate to put on it isn't too much to ask.

Name number plates

Name number plates are always a feature of the auctions, but the smaller-than-usual number of lots did mean there were fewer than we've been used to seeing. HR51 NGH (£10,365) clearly represents the name Singh but H is visually close enough to M that the intended meaning could be HR Singh or Mr Singh. Another likely candidate for the name Singh was 557 NGH at £8,554.

Other names on offer were RAY 3N (£12,920), ABB 14E (£10,4290), 786 JAY (£10,391), 92 JAY (£10,378), LEE 8B (£9,749), ASH 5H (£9,723) and, possibly, 81 LLV (£5,229), which actually makes a pretty good Billy at a glance.

Hiding between categories

There are patterns we see again and again that don't fit into the usual private number plate pigeonholes. They're not names, words, initials, or car references, yet they have instant and obvious visual impact. Some of them feature striking repetition of characters, while others achieve a neat symmetry that catches the eye. We saw examples in September 2023 with OO05 OOO (£15,501) and January 2024 with OOO 100X (£14,204) and S100 OOO £4,610). In this month's auction, OO09 OOO sold for £14,936. There have been plenty more.

Another frequent favourite format is that featuring numbers followed by the letter O. We saw several O numbers snapped up for good prices in September 2023 (8888 O at £31,037, 760 O at £27,057 and 54 OO at £26,415. This month's auction added 501 O to the ranks at a healthy £34,761.

Plate	Price *
2 FU	£74,565
8 XN	£54,021
501 O	£34,761
A911 GTS	£32,514
HER 105S	£32,193
365 G	£30,074
THE 904T	£27,198
6 NJM	£27,057
3 SSL	£25,208
4 KAK	£24,168
88 OOO	£23,847
67 DPM	£23,205
11 LAH	£22,910
84 RJC	£21,921
285 S	£21,921
471 B	£20,663
102 M	£20,650
5 RUP	£20,624
4 USY	£20,624
992 A	£19,674
51 UK	£19,674
1 OMD	£18,390
29 KJS	£17,774
88 VB	£17,453
AUR 4A	£16,798
211 H	£16,785
111 LJC	£16,490
102 RS	£15,514
2 OJM	£15,488
13 UH	£15,488
99 WO	£15,488
9 SCB	£15,360
24 OP	£15,077
OO09 OOO	£14,936
64 DAM	£14,332
29 KEL	£14,217
1 KVC	£14,204
420 OO	£14,204
96 RY	£13,960
9 NGL	£13,909
LAY 1N	£13,575
RAG 3N	£13,446
1996 CW	£12,946
911 JNR	£12,933
SJM 911	£12,933
RAY 3N	£12,920
99 XO	£12,920
1 RYO	£12,779
88 JSB	£12,766
18 UX	£12,406

* Prices include fees and taxes.

The stats

February's DVLA online auction comprised 1000 lots, 999 of which were sold and one unsold. Purchasers spent a total of £4,858,634, delivering £4,546,088 to the Treasury. A pretty good result considering the reduced number of lots.

The next DVLA timed online auction will take place from Wednesday 20th March to Tuesday 26th March 2024.